Tuesday 6 March - Saturday 10 March 2012: The County Conventions meet over several days to choose 12 of 29 of Wyoming's delegates to the Republican National Convention. Approximately 980 (?) County precinct committeemen and women, who were elected in Wyoming's 17 August 2010 (biennial) primary election, are eligible to vote for the National Convention Delegates and Alternates at the County Conventions.

Wyoming has 23 counties that are grouped into 12 Delegate-Districts. In each Delegate-District, except Laramie, counties are paired: one county selects a delegate while the other selects an alternate. The counties swap positions after each Presidential election.

Laramie, the county that cast the most votes of any county for the Republican candidate for Congress in the general election immediately preceding the National Convention selects both a Delegate and an Alternate. Laramie County cast the most votes of any county, 19,649 of out 131,661, for Congressman Cynthia Marie Lummis in the 2010 midterm election.

The arrangement for 2012 Delegate / Alternate Districts are:

Natrona / Albany

Carbon / Sweetwater

Lincoln / Uinta

Sublette Platte / Teton

Park / Fremont

Washakie / Hot Springs

Big Horn / Sheridan Platte

Johnson / Campbell

Weston / Crook

Niobrara / Converse

Platte / Goshen

Laramie selects both a delegate and an alternate.

There is no formal system applied in the County Convention to relate the presidential preference of the Convention participants to the choice of either the county's delegates to the State Convention or the delegate(s) to the National Convention the County Convention is helping to choose. The participants at each County Convention alone determine if presidential preference is to be a factor in such choices and, if so, how it is to be applied. All delegates are officially unbound.

State Party by-laws require that, before the County convention votes are taken, each would-be delegate or alternate must inform the convention of which presidential candidate, if any, they would cast their vote for at the national convention unless released from that pledge by the Presidential candidate.

Thursday 12 April - Saturday 14 April 2012: The Wyoming State Republican Convention convenes in Cheyenne. The State Convention chooses the remaining 17 of Wyoming's delegates to the Republican National Convention.

Again, there is no formal system of allocating Wyoming's National Convention delegates to presidential contenders. The delegates to the State Convention alone determine if presidential preference is to be a factor and, if so, how it is to be applied to the choosing of the National Convention delegates.

3 delegates are party leaders: the National Committeeman, the National Committeewoman, and the chairman of the Wyoming's Republican Party. These individuals will attend the convention as unpledged delegates by virtue of their position.

State Party by-laws require that, before the State convention votes are taken, each would-be delegate or alternate (except the 3 Party Leader delegates) must inform the convention of which presidential candidate, if any, they would cast their vote for at the national convention unless released from that pledge by the Presidential candidate.

Im sure there are multiple reasons, and someone will say it is all because of the Mormon thing. But as much as the mountain west states dont live government intrusion, they really hate government intrusion with a religious bent. Wyoming, Idaho, the Dakotas and Montana are all fairly libertarian, but I think they will accept government healthcare before they accept someone like Santorum.

I dont know that they actually find Romney appealing, just less offputting than his opponents.

Disclaimer:
Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual
posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its
management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the
exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.